A security, intelligence and investigation expert, Yahuza Getso, has accused Nigerian security authorities of ignoring timely intelligence that could have prevented the abduction of 26 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State.

Getso described the attack, which also claimed the life of the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, as the result of “total negligence and sabotage by those responsible for acting on security alerts.”

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, November 19, the security expert said he personally provided detailed intelligence hours before the bandits launched the operation, but no action was taken.

“Let me tell you, the incident that happened in Kebbi is a total compromise. It’s total negligence. It’s a total sabotage against the state,” Getso said.

He explained that he had alerted authorities earlier that some local governments were at high risk of coordinated attacks.

He said he transmitted the warnings to multiple security organs and senior officials.

“I have provided information about insinuations that some local governments are at risk of a serious attack by bandits. I sent information to the highest level of authority, to the highest level of intelligence, to the highest level of operational team within the circle of the state of Kebbi, and that of Niger, and to the hierarchy at Abuja,” Getso said.

He added that he continued to monitor the situation for hours and sent repeated updates.

“After three hours, I still followed up. These guys are still coordinating themselves. These guys are within so-so-so location,” Getso stressed.

Security Withdrawal Before Attack

According to Getso, security personnel stationed in the school left shortly before the bandits arrived.

“There was the presence of military or whatever security within the school, but they left. After they left, within a short period of time, the bandits came in,” he said.

It was earlier reported that the attackers shot and killed the vice principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, as he attempted to protect the girls.

Getso also claimed that he repeatedly called senior military officials while the attack was ongoing, but none of the calls were answered.

“Even while the attack was going on, I made several calls to the hierarchies… but nobody responded to my call up till now,” he stated.

He said such silence from security leaders during distress situations undermines public trust.

“How do you build the confidence and trust of Nigerians that the government is serious? It’s an absolute system failure. We have the problem. We have the solution, but we intentionally refused to direct our eyes to the solution,” Getso disclosed.

‘99.9% of Bandits Are Nigerians’

Addressing claims that bandits are largely foreign fighters, Getso insisted the problem is homegrown.

Getso said: “Ninety-nine point nine per cent of the bandits operating in Nigeria are Nigerians.”

When asked if the authorities’ failure to act on his intelligence was deliberate, he replied: “As far as I’m concerned, it is deliberate because refusal to take my intelligence is a deliberate action.”

He argued that security agencies had distributed distress numbers meant for real-time intelligence reporting but failed to use them. He said: “Anybody who calls those numbers and provides intelligence, and it is not utilised immediately—it is deliberate negligence, it is deliberate sabotage.”

Naijaonpoint reports that during the attack, Vice Principal Malam Hassan Makuku was reportedly shot dead while attempting to stop the bandits from taking the schoolgirls.

The gunmen abducted 26 students and escaped into the forest.

In a statement on Monday, the police said a combined tactical team had been deployed to comb the forest to rescue the girls.

President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack and sympathised with the families of those affected, describing the killing of the vice principal and abduction of the schoolgirls as “distressing and unacceptable.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima has also left Abuja to visit the community on Wednesday as part of the government’s response.